International Game Technology Company

International Game Technology, the largest maker of slot machines, agreed Monday to buy rival Anchor Gaming for $1.37 billion in stock and assumed debt, further reducing the ranks of independent gaming-machine makers. Reno-based IGT said it will pay one share for each of Anchor Gaming's. IGT stock (ticker symbol: IGT) eased 8 cents to $59.12 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, valuing Anchor at the same share price. Anchor stock (SLOT) jumped $3.05 to $56.

Slot machine maker International Game Technology Inc. said Monday that Harrah's Entertainment Inc. had agreed to purchase at least 11,000 slot machines that let gamblers wager with tickets instead of coins. The announcement buoyed shares of International Game, which surged 11%. The order may be the biggest ever for International Game, the Reno, Nev.-based company said. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Slot Machine Maker's CEO Resigns: David P. Hanlon left Reno-based International Game Technology to "pursue other interests" only 2 1/2 months after taking the job and one week before the company's annual meeting, the company said. Charles N. Mathewson, the chairman of the largest maker of video slot machines, assumed Hanlon's title.

Hunkered in a windowless office and bathed in the competing glows of a computer screen and an incandescent floor lamp, Lance Peterson writes one-liners for Rodney Dangerfield, Regis Philbin and Gene Wilder. He's preparing them for their casino performances -- not onstage, but for talking slot machines bearing their names. "Thanks a lot!" quips Dangerfield, when a gambler deposits a buck in the machine. "Your kids don't need college anyway!" Bada bing. Or, "Thanks, now I got some drinkin' money."

Slot machine maker Anchor Gaming said Wednesday that it will sell its interest in a San Diego casino as it prepares to close its pending merger with industry giant International Game Technology. Las Vegas-based Anchor said it will sell its share of the management of the San Diego-area casino owned by the Pala Band of Mission Indians for $77 million.

Investors are hot for slots again. Shares of casino slot machine makers International Game Technology and Anchor Gaming have recently reached their highest levels in years amid booming sales of models with flashy, computer-generated graphics. On Thursday, Anchor Gaming's stock (ticker symbol: SLOT) jumped $4.69 to $66.69, highest since mid-1998, after brokerage Lehman Bros. raised its price target for the stock to $83 from $78 and reiterated its buy rating.

Slot machine maker International Game Technology Inc. said Monday that Harrah's Entertainment Inc. had agreed to purchase at least 11,000 slot machines that let gamblers wager with tickets instead of coins. The announcement buoyed shares of International Game, which surged 11%. The order may be the biggest ever for International Game, the Reno, Nev.-based company said. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Hunkered in a windowless office and bathed in the competing glows of a computer screen and an incandescent floor lamp, Lance Peterson writes one-liners for Rodney Dangerfield, Regis Philbin and Gene Wilder. He's preparing them for their casino performances -- not onstage, but for talking slot machines bearing their names. "Thanks a lot!" quips Dangerfield, when a gambler deposits a buck in the machine. "Your kids don't need college anyway!" Bada bing. Or, "Thanks, now I got some drinkin' money."

Some of Nevada's biggest gambling companies--including casinos and slot machine manufacturers--are ready to join the next California gold rush, which some say will be triggered by the anticipated passage of Proposition 1A, the Indian casino measure on the March 7 ballot. But a number of casino companies--especially those doing business in downtown Las Vegas, Reno and Laughlin--have been warned to brace for a $626-million dip in gambling revenue from Californians if the measure passes.

Slot machine maker Anchor Gaming said Wednesday that it will sell its interest in a San Diego casino as it prepares to close its pending merger with industry giant International Game Technology. Las Vegas-based Anchor said it will sell its share of the management of the San Diego-area casino owned by the Pala Band of Mission Indians for $77 million.

International Game Technology, the largest maker of slot machines, agreed Monday to buy rival Anchor Gaming for $1.37 billion in stock and assumed debt, further reducing the ranks of independent gaming-machine makers. Reno-based IGT said it will pay one share for each of Anchor Gaming's. IGT stock (ticker symbol: IGT) eased 8 cents to $59.12 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, valuing Anchor at the same share price. Anchor stock (SLOT) jumped $3.05 to $56.

Investors are hot for slots again. Shares of casino slot machine makers International Game Technology and Anchor Gaming have recently reached their highest levels in years amid booming sales of models with flashy, computer-generated graphics. On Thursday, Anchor Gaming's stock (ticker symbol: SLOT) jumped $4.69 to $66.69, highest since mid-1998, after brokerage Lehman Bros. raised its price target for the stock to $83 from $78 and reiterated its buy rating.

Slot Machine Maker's CEO Resigns: David P. Hanlon left Reno-based International Game Technology to "pursue other interests" only 2 1/2 months after taking the job and one week before the company's annual meeting, the company said. Charles N. Mathewson, the chairman of the largest maker of video slot machines, assumed Hanlon's title.